Come Back To What You Know

Honestly, I can’t believe we pulled it off either.

It hadn’t been part of my original plan. As far as Charley knew, we were going to meet tomorrow, back where we first met. But then some things changed.

Yesterday evening, I was at home in my room, looking over a few things for work on my laptop, when I got a message alert through Facebook.

A request from an Annette Richards.

I raised my eyebrows. I recognised her name. That was Charley’s mum.

With apprehension, I clicked on the message to see what it said.

Annette Richards: Hi Brayden. You don’t know me, but I’m Charley’s mum. Please could you give me a ring when you have a moment?

She’d left her number for me, and my immediate feeling was fear. Why would she want me to call her unless something was wrong? What if something had happened to Charley? Or what if she wanted me to call her to tell me I wasn’t good enough for her daughter?

This was a really weird way to connect for the first time, but curiosity and worry overrode that. I reached for my phone and dialled the number.

“That was fast.”

Surprised, I laughed. “Most people say hello.”

Annette laughed too. “Sorry. I was hoping you’d get back to me soon. I’ve had an idea and I need to work quickly.”

I’d met girlfriends’ parents in the past, but this was already by far the strangest introduction I’d ever had.

“Erm… is Charley okay?”

“Yes, she’s fine. I’m actually trying to organise a surprise for her, and, well, you are the surprise.”

I blinked, a tad confused about what she was talking about. What surprise would involve me? And also, why would she want to include me in a surprise? I knew Charley had told her about me, but she’d never actually met me. For all she knew, I could be a first class bellend.

“So, I’m going to pick Charley up from the airport tomorrow. And even though she’ll be tired, I am going to take her to Winter Wonderland. Brayden, she’s told me everything about the two of you, including how you have ice skating in your plans. So, I was wondering, if you’re free, if you feel like coming for a trip to London. I know it’s last minute, but if you want to come, I’ll book you a room in the hotel we’re staying at. You don’t have to pay me back, I just…” she paused. “I’ve missed my daughter very much, but I know that she is more excited to see you than me. I want her to be happy, and I think you being there tomorrow to surprise her would make her extremely happy.”

It soon became clear where Charley got her kindness from. Annette was offering me something amazing to make her daughter happy. And honestly, I’d really wanted to meet Charley at the airport, but I knew her mum and brother would want to see her first. Family was more important than me, but knowing they wanted to include me meant a lot.

“I have work in the morning,” I said. “But I can drive up later in the afternoon. Charley’s flight isn’t due in until later in the afternoon, so, yes. I can make it.”

Annette let out a small squeal of excitement. “Thank you! I will sort out a room for you and then call you back with the details.”

For a moment, I was speechless. She really did move quickly. “I… thank you. This is a really nice thing to do.”

She let out a slow sigh. “Brayden, I know we haven’t met yet, but from what I have heard about you, you are special to Charley. She’s told me everything.”

“Everything?”

“Everything. Even the part where you hurt her. But my daughter is the best judge of character, and if she trusts you, then I do too.”

“Wow. Thank you. I… I’ll never stop regretting what I did, but I plan to spend the rest of my life making up for it.”

I felt like I could hear her smile through the phone. “That’s what I want to hear.”

“So, my mum really did all this?” Charley asked eventually, as if she’d tapped into my thoughts.

I smiled down at her. “She did. She’s pretty cool as mums go.”

Charley laughed. “Yeah, she is. I didn’t really appreciate that until I was away from her. Now I will never forget it.”

I squeezed her hand. “She loves you. She didn’t stop telling me stories about you when we met earlier.”